Eye of the Beholder
Copyright© 2025 by DB86
Chapter 3
When Annabella reached the farm, John Harding was milking a cow by hand in the stable.
“Good morning, Ms. Reed. I heard you were back in town,” the farmer greeted the girl without taking his eyes off the cow.
“Yeah, I just got back yesterday evening,” she replied climbing down from her bike.
“What can I do for you, Ms. Reed?” the farmer asked her.
“Call me Annabella, or just Bella, Mr. Harding.” She took a deep breath, forced a smile on her face, and said, “As it happens, this is your lucky day. Red told me you’re looking for someone to help you around the farm. Well, I’m your woman.”
John Harding didn’t say anything for what seemed the longest time. Then he spoke up again. “Thanks for your offer, Bella, but you’re not the kind of help I’m looking for.”
Her experience in hundreds of castings had taught Bella not to take no for an answer.
“Of course I am.”
“I’m curious, why’s that?” the farmer standing up and looking at her with a smile.
“Because you’re obviously an intelligent man, and you can see that I’m a terrific worker,” Annabella replied.
“What I see is that I need a man.”
She smiled sweetly. “Don’t we all? Wealthy and not married if you ask me.”
John Harding laughed, amused by her flippancy. “I’m only going to hire a man.”
“I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear that, Mr. Harding, since sexual discrimination is illegal in this country.”
John Harding laughed out loud.
“Are you going to sue me, Annabella?”
Another woman might have given up, but Annabella had less than ten dollars in her pocket and she needed a job badly.
“You’re making a big mistake, Mr. Harding. An opportunity like me doesn’t come along every day,” she insisted.
“I know. I wish I could help you, Bella. What I have is hard manual labor. The grass needs to be mowed; the buildings need to be painted; the roof of the barn needs to be repaired. It’ll take a man to do that kind of work.”
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